Private Pilot Crashes in King Air on Takeoff

Beech King Air E90, Bloomington, Ill., July 21, 2002–A private pilot and his sole passenger were killed when their Beech E90 (N12KA) crashed shortly after takeoff from Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI) in Bloomington, Ill. N12KA, operated by Image Air, was destroyed when it hit the ground about one-third of a mile east of the departure end of Runway 20.

The airplane had just lifted off the runway at 1026 CDT and climbed to about 100 ft when it veered to the left and struck the ground in a nose-low attitude. The Part 91 flight was departing BMI on an IFR flight to Cable Union, Wis. VMC prevailed. The cause of the accident is under investigation.